Earth moving device



Feb. 1, 1938. KNAPP 2,107,118

EARTH MOVING DEVICE Filed Jan. 10, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR." JoinF Imp a ATTORNEY.

Feb. 1, 1938. KNA 2,107,118

EARTH MOVING DEVICE Filed Jan. 10, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 1, 1938.J. F. KNAPP EARTH MOVING DEVICE Filed Jan. 10, 1936 3 ShetsSheet 5 NNV 5Q Nw mm E Patented Feb. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES EARTH MOVING DEVICE JohnF. Knapp, Oakland; Calif., assignor to American Tractor EquipmentCorporation, a corporation of California Application January 10, 19st,SerialNo. 58,552

Claims.

tlve to the earth can be controlled as can reception of the scrapedearth and its retention. To accomplish these several functions variouscontrol schemes have been worked out, usually employing cables. Themachines available to contactors and earth excavators include as many asfour different cables, several of which were usually quite long. Thesecables require frequent renewing and on one commercially availablescraper it has been reliably established that the cable cost per day ofoperation was $15.00. When it is remembered that the investment in thescraper is quite a large sum, in the neighborhood of $5,000, that aheavy large tractor is required and that tractor operator's salary mustbe included, it will be readily apparent that the daily operating costof one of these units is relatively high and that a considerable portionof this cost is made up in cable maintenance alone. In the machine of myinvention I have simplified the control and have reduced the number orcables required as well as simplifying the working of each cable to theend that its life would be increased.

It'is-in general an object of the present invention to improve uponscraper structures, to simplify the control thereof and, in a cableoperating mechanism, to reduce the number of cables employed as well asthe severity of use to which the cable is subjected to the end that thecable operating cost may be reduced.

Structures of the character herein considered are used in the workingover of terrainswhich are far from level. These structures are alsoemployed for transportation of heavy loads of earth. To secure adequatesupport for rolling of these structures it is usual to provide aplurality of trucks having on each truck a plurality of wheels. It is myobservation that a considerable portion of the maintenance cost of thesestructures can be charged to the fact that the wheels are not providedupon the structures in such a 55 manner that the structure, through thewheels,

could readily accommodate itself to the terrain over which it waspassing. The consequent result is that passage of the structure over anyuneven ground racks and works'the structure.

As a consequence, the structures have to be re- 5 paired constantly.

It is a further object of the present invention to improve upon thesupporting means provided for scraper structures and, more particularly,is an object to provide a suitable truck mounting and support for ascraper structure enabling the scraper to be moved over rough, uneventerrain without the terrain effecting a working in the scraperstructure.

Present structures of the type herein considered include the operatingmechanism over the bowl. This prevents loading with a power shovel. (SeePatent 1,891,266 of December 20,'193 2.). The machine of my invention isfree of this objection, it being an object of my invention to provide amachine of the class described which can be loaded by a power shovelwithout danger to operating mechanism. I

In addition to the foregoing objects, the invention includes otherobjects and features of advantage, some of which, together withtheforegoing, will appear hereinafter when the present preferred scraperstructure of myinvention is disclosed.

In the drawings accompanying and forming apart of this specificationFigure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating thepreferred scraper structure of my invention. a

Figure 2 is a rear view showing the truck means supporting thescraper.

Figure 3 is a plan view.

Figure 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 isa section taken along the line 55 of Figure 4 illustratingthe control mechanism in some detail.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 1.

The frame The scraper of the present invention includes a strong steelframe II made upof a plurality of members, usually secured together byspot welding. This frame includes side members l2, end member l3 and aforward member l4 joining the side members l2 and extending forwardly toprovide a support IS in which are provided bearings l1.

A front truck I 8, including an axle l9 upon which are positioned wheels2|, is provided. A draw bar 22 extends forwardly to be attached toa-suitable hitch on such a vehicle as a tractor used to propel thescraper. The axle I8 carries .a ball member 23 which is received In asocket 24 at the bottom of a post 23. This post extends through bearingsI1 and includes guides 21 thereon, cooperating with the bearings I1 torestrict the movement between the bearings and the post to only asliding movement, rotational movement being prevented by the guides 21.At the rear of the frame truck support-members 3I are provided', thesemembers being suitably attached .and braced to frame structure andextending As appears in Figure 4, each axle is supported for, a limitedrotational movement in a direction parallel to the transverse axis ofthe bowl and transversely to the direction of movement of the 1 wheels32 so thateach truck can, independently of the other truck, readilyaccommodate itself to any inequalities in the terrain over which thevehicle passes. As appears in Figure 4, this oscillatory mounting ofeach axle is secured by supporting the axle in the support member 3| bymeans of stub shafts 34 which are suitably attached and positioned ineach member 3i by trunnions 36 and trunnion bearings 31. ,Means areprovided for sealing. each axle support to' prevent the entrance offoreign matter into the trunnion bearings. In the formdisclosed thismeans comprises a plate 38 engaged with the axle andv slidable in gibs38 provided on each side. of the plate. Each plate is long enough. toseal the opening-in the wheel support means in any extreme position ofthe axle. The entrance of dirt and dust and other foreign matter is thusprevented. I

. The bowl Secured to the frame members I2 are suitable side plates 4|.Between these side plates are extended a bottom plate 42 and an arcuateplate 43. At their forward ends these plates are joined together andthus provide a lip 44' to which is attached asuitable cutting blade 46,bolts 45 being usually utilized for this purpose so that the cuttingblade can be readily changed orreplaced.

Upon advancing-the scraper over the ground the cutting blade 46 will cutoff and pick up earth, this earth being deposited-upon the arcuate plate43 to be retained therein.

Since the point at which it is desired to dum a load from the scrapermay be a considerable distance from the point at which the load ispicked up, since transportation of the load may result in accidentaldischarge of a part thereof, I

providemeans for retaining the earthin the be noted that plate'iIincludesaface 52 which engages the cutting blade. and thus" insuresflatight closure for the bowl. A plate 53 is extended between the arms 41and is attachedto the plate II to continue the configuration of the bowlwhen the face 52 is in engagement withthe cutting edge and to otherwisestrengthen this structure. The entire structure just described pro-' Theblade elevating mechanism 7 Means are provided for raising and loweringthe frame II so that the position of the. cutting blade 48 relative tothe earth can be adjusted.

In the form disclosed this means comprises a plurality of pulleys 1Isupported upon a shaft 12 carried by forwardly extending arms 13 on thepost 28. A second set of pulleys indicated at 14 are supported upon ashaft 18 carried upon arms 11 are positioned upon the frame structure. Acable 18 is secured to the frame and is extended about the severalpulleys to secure a multiplication in the power applied on cable 18. Thecable extends about a guide pulley 18 positioned by support 8I foruniversal movement. The pulley extends to a suitable hoist mechanism,usually a hoist at the rear of a tractor, a hoist being that indicatedat".

The closure and end gate operating mechanism In accordance with thisinvention asingle cable is provided for operating both the closure meansand the end gate structure. This is [accomplished in the form disclosedin the drawings by extending a singleca'ble 85 to a universal guidemeans indicated at 82 into certain operating mechanism carried in thetransverse forwardly extending frame portion I4 which, ln-eflect,

provides a box structure for receiving and protecting this mechanismagainst the entrance of dust, dirt and the effect of the elements. Cable85 enters this box-like structure and passes about a guide pulley 83 toa pulley '84 carried upon shaft 86 which is fixed in position in the boxstructure I4. The cable then passes to a pulley 81 on a shaft 88. Theshaft 88 is carried upon a movable carriage 88 supported by rollers 8|upon a track 82. This track extends transversely. of the scraperstructure and supports the carriage for a limited transverse movementbetween stops ISI. The cable then passes about pulley 83 on shaft 86 andpulley 84 on shaft 88, andthen about guide pulley 86 which'passes thecable down through the right hand side member I2 to a pulley 88. Pulley88 is carried upon a shaft 88 supported in bearings I8I upon framemember I3. The shaft extends for a goodly portion across the machine, aswill presently appear.

It is to belnoted, as appears in Figure 3, that the cable is attached tothe pulley so that movement of the cable to the right in Figure 3 willresult in a clock-wise rotation of shaft 88. Shaft 88 carries at theextreme-left hand end thereof (Figure 2) a gear I83 over which passes achain I84. This chain also extends about a. sprocket wheel I86 on ashaft I81 which is supported in bearings I88. Upon this shaft aresecured pinions I88 in engagement with racks III. Each rack is securedby a hinge II2 to-plate 82, each rack extending rearwardly through thesupporting members 3I being protected thereby. It will thus be seen thatupon a clockwise rotation of pulley 88 the pinions I88 will similarlyrotate in a clockwise direction and racks III will advance from left toright in Figure 4 to move the end gate forward over the arcuate bowlmember 43 and thus eliminate from the bowl dirt piled therein.

To provide for raising and lowering of the closure member provided byarms 41 and plates and 53 I attach cable I2I to the carriage 89, theother end of the cable being wound around pulley I22 to which its end isattached. Pulley I22 is carried upon shaft I23 suitably supported inbearings in the box structure I4. At one end of shaft I23 is provided amiter gear I24 in mesh with a like miter gear I28 on an end of shaftI21. This shaft is also suitably supported and carries two pulleys I23.Cables I23 are attached to and wound about each of the pulleys I23,these cables extending over guide pulleys III for attachment to ear I32on plate ii. The travel of the carriage over the track between limitstops I5I is effective to raise and lower the closure.

To provide for the return of the end gate I extend a. spring I in ahousing I42 transversely on the scraper bowl so as to secure a goodlylength thereof. A piston I43 engages an end of this spring and to thispiston is attached a cable I44 by means of an eye bolt I46. This cableis extended to the end gate about suitable guide pulleys I41 so thatwhen the end gate is moved forward it is only against the bias of thespring so that the spring always urges the end gate to return to thatposition in which it appears in Figure 4.

Operation While it is believed that the operation of the ,structure isrelatively clear from the foregoing description, it will be againpointed out upon a pulling of cable I8, a raising and lowering of thecutting blade relative to the edge can be secured, the cable passingover suitable pulleys provided between the frame of the scraper and thepost 26. As to operation of the bowl, once the bowl is filled it israised relative to the earth, the closure means provided by arms 41 andplates 5| and 53 being lowered into position. Normally the scraper isoperated in that position in which it appears in Figure 4 with thescraper blade being in contact with the earth. When the closure means isto be lowered, the operator simply releases the tension upon cable 85,the weight of the closure means returning the carriage from the positionin which it appears in Figure 5 to the right hand side of the scraperstructure in which position the closure means will be lowered and face52 will be in engagement with the cutting blade 46.

When it is desired to dump the load, the operator operates the hoistpulling on cable 85. This results in a transverse movement of thecarriage since the spring and the load of the earth in the bowl preventthe end gate from moving until the carriage is brought into abutmentwith stop means I5I on the track. By the time the carriage abuts theleft hand stop means, (Figure 4) the closure means is raised and dumpingof the load will be possible upon advancement of the end gate. To securedumping of the end gate, the operator continues reeling in the cable 85by means ofthe hoist on the tractor, the continued pulling resulting inrotation of pulley 33 and advancement of racks III so that the end gateis pushed forward when the entire load has been dropped, the operatorreleases the hoist and the spring automatically returns the end gate tothat position in which it appears in Figure 4.

It is to be pointed out that the load on the dirt moving gate issubstantially uniform. Thus when the gate is first moved the load ismade up of dirt on the bowl and little if any power is demanded by thespring. As the dirt is forced out over the cutting edge the dirt loaddecreases but more power is demanded by the spring. This results in auniform loading on the cables and enables the operator to judge theoperation of cleaning the bowl more accurately.

I claim:

1. In a scraper, a bowl, an end gate movable to sweep dirt off saidbowl, a closure for said bowl; and means for raising and lowering saidclosure and for moving said end gate in one direction including acarriage movable transversely of said direction, a stop therefor, meansconnecting said carriage to said closure, and a cable for moving saidcarriage to engage said stop and, upon continued cable movement, formoving said end gate.

2. In a scraper, a bowl, an end gate movable to sweep dirt off saidbowl, a closure for said bowl; and means for raising and lowering saidclosure and for moving said end gate in one direction including acarriage movable transversely of said direction, a stop therefor, meansconnecting said carriage to said closure, a cable for moving saidcarriage to engage said stop and, upon continued cable movement, formoving said end gate in one direction, and means for returning said gateafter movement in said one direction including a spring urging said gateto return.

3. In a scraper, a bowl, an end gate movable to sweep dirt off saidbowl, a closure for said bowl; and means for raising and lowering saidclosure and for moving said end gatein one direction including acarriage movable transversely of said direction, a stop therefor, meansconnecting said carriage to said closure, a cable for moving saidcarriage to engage said stop and, upon continued cable movement, formoving said end gate in one direction, and means for returning said gateafter movement in said one direction including a spring compressed bymovement of said gate in one direction urging said gate to return.

4. In a scraper, a frame including members defining an opening, awheeled support for the frame, at the rear end thereof, a wheeledsupport at the front end of said frame, means at the front end of saidframe for raising and lowering said frame with respect to said front endsupport to alter the relation of said frame to the earth, a bowldepending from said frame and secured thereto in a fixed relationbeneath said opening, a gate hinged on said frame and movable over saidbowl from one end to the other thereof to remove dirt, and means foroperating said gate disposed on said frame and carried thereby entirelyoutside said opening to leave said opening unobstructed.

5. In a scraper, a rigid frame including members defining asubstantially unobstructed opening, wheels positioned at one end of saidframe, a truck, a dirigible connection between said frame and saidtruck, a bowl depending from said frame and secured thereto beneath saidopening in a fixed relation, a gate movable over said bowl from one endto the other to eject dirt therefrom, a door for closing said bowl,means carried at the forward end of said frame for operating said gate

